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ODA to leave 2012 ‘learning legacy’

The Olympic Delivery Authority has commissioned a range of reports from the construction industry in a bid to leave a ‘learning legacy’ in areas including procurement and sustainability.

Construction News understands groups including the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Chartered Institute of Building and the UK Green Building Council have been commissioned to undertake research into lessons learned from delivering the 2012 Olympics.

One industry source said: “This is about researching the work done on the Olympics and showing how it can help the industry in future. The contractors had to show evidence of what they were doing so there is a lot of research to go through and there could be about 300 reports launched.

“It is a real collaborative approach within the industry and they will be fantastic niche reports focusing on everything from the types of materials used in construction to the best sustainable practices.”

The Learning Legacy programme will see a wide range of interviews conducted and contractors’ evidence examined to contribute to reports across 10 different areas including health and safety, employment, community relations and training.

The reports will be published online with a launch event scheduled for September and a series of Learning Legacy events to be held by the ODA and industry partners.

The Health and Safety Executive and the Strategic Forum for Construction will also help deliver the reports. A second source told CN the reports would be “massively comprehensive”.

An ODA spokesman said: “The scale and speed of the coordinated UK effort to deliver the venues and infrastructure for the London 2012 Games is unprecedented.

“Added to this, the project has been used as an opportunity to regenerate a huge part of east London and aim for and achieve new standards in a range of areas.

“While we remain resolutely focused on completing the project on time and within budget, it is vital that we capture and share the lessons learned and knowledge gained for the benefit of the industry and future projects.”

One of the few areas where the Olympics project has struggled is against some sustainability targets.

Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 chairman Shaun McCarthy told CN the ODA had invested about £1m in home insulation and energy efficiency for schools as part of a renewed drive to meet carbon reduction targets.

He said: “The way in which the Aquatics Centre was commissioned meant it was very difficult for engineers to build and needed a lot of steel, which added both cost and carbon to the building. It’s an example of an area I feel we could have done better.”

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